GOLDMAN SACHS: Half the FTSE 100 is owned by foreigners who might sell if there is a Brexit

Goldman Sachs analyst Sharon Bell and her team produced
this excellent chart of who owns what in the FTSE 100:

Goldman
Sachs

Unsurprisingly, about half the market is owned by people
who live outside the UK. Only a tiny sliver is owned by
households or the government, the only two sectors that have a
long-term vested interest in the fate of the UK as a place to
live.

That poses a risk that investors will look to sell UK stock
if the EU Referendum vote on June 23 goes in favour of Brexit,
Bell writes:

Of course, there is a difference between the risk of a UK
exit from the EU and this actually occurring, and it's possible
the FTSE 100 stocks would move to a discount vs Europe as
investors apply a higher risk premium to UK assets. As shown [in
the chart] around 50% of UK equities are owned by investors
outside the UK.

Although, a Brexit discount may already be priced in, Bell
says:

But we cannot be certain about this. Despite all the
turbulence around the UK leaving ERM in 1992, we did not see a
clear discount for UK stocks. And the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250
outperformed vs Europe strongly afterwards.